A new method for pinpointing locations, developed by the founders of TomTom,
could make postcodes redundant

A new way of pinpointing locations on a map has been launched today, allowing people to identify any place on earth within metres, using a unique code.

Developed by the founders of TomTom, Pieter Geelen and Harold Goddijn, these 'Mapcodes' consist of four to seven characters, and are intended to be easy to remember, simple to communicate, and free.

Unlike postal codes, Mapcodes do not need databases that can be expensive to maintain. Instead, anyone can generate a Mapcode using free software by putting in the latitude and longitude of a location.

Mapcode claims the new technology will be particularly useful in countries that don’t have a universal address or postal system.

“The idea of Mapcode came about when we saw that millions of locations around the world do not have a recognisable address and were hard to find,” said Pieter Geelen, co-founder of Mapcode.

“Introducing a Mapcode system means everyone is empowered with the ability to identify any location on earth, regardless of the country or its infrastructure.”

However, Mapcodes can also be used in places where there are reliable address systems in place, allowing delivery companies to bypass the existing postal system.

This could be particularly attractive for businesses in the UK, which currently have to pay to access the Royal Mail's Postcode Address File (PAF) – a collection of over 29 million Royal Mail postal addresses and 1.8 million postcodes.

The Mapcode technology has been donated to The Mapcode Foundation, which is responsible for ensuring the technology is made freely available to everyone.

“Mapcodes is an important development in creating a new global standard that makes it easy for anyone to pinpoint any location,” said Harold Goddijn, CEO TomTom.

"The technology will be supported by TomTom, and we hope to see other organisations adopting it in the near future."

Mapcodes is not the first company to take on the postal code system. Last year, a mobile app called what3words was launched to make finding locations more accurate and memorable.

The app works by dividing the globe into 57 trillion 3m-by-3m squares, and labelling each area with just three words.

For example, the address for the Peter Pan statue in Hyde Park, London is "union.prop.enjoy" and entering those three words on the what3words mobile app or website will give a precise location for the statue.